Friday, May 16, 2008

The Aimless Shepherd

I just watched The Good Shepherd, directed by Robert DeNiro. I have never seen a movie he directed before -- he apparently has only done one other, A Bronx Tale. I must say, this film was shot wonderfully, had great acting... and basically no plot. I literally spent the entire film thinking, 'OK, this is a really good, if long, set up for the real action, which is going to start any moment.' Bobby, Bobby -- if you're going to make a spy movie, it's a good idea to include a spy story in there somewhere!

The other unpleasant thing about the film was Eddie Redmayne, perhaps the most physically off-putting actor I have ever seen in a major movie. I felt nauseous every time he came on the screen and I had to look at his pouting, self-absorbed face again.